Choose The Best Domain Name Option
When youre checking for available domain names, youll often find that your first, second, and tenth choices are already taken. Some of the different approaches you can take when this happens are:
- Keep searching. Let your creative juices flow, and continue to search until you find something you love or at least like.
- Choose another extension. If the .com isnt available and youre set on a certain name, consider the .net or .org if you think it will work.
- Reach out to the owner. Maybe the domain is already owned, but its not being put to much use. You could reach out to the owner with an offer.
How Much Does A Domain Name Cost
When you buy a domain name through domain registrars, you register it for one year with the option of a multi-year registration. You will be able to renew your domain name registration when the initial period finishes, and will usually be alerted by the registrar to do so. Domain names are also sometimes included in your web hosting plan and if not, usually offered by your hosting company.
Domains purchased through Mailchimp are priced based on the TLD you choose, such as .com or .net.
A domain name with a common top-level domain, such as .com, can be had for as low as $12.99 per year, and promotions are often available. Internet domains purchased through Mailchimp also come with free WHOIS privacy protection and a Secure Sockets Layer certificate to provide your website with free verification and encryption.
You do need to have a web hosting plan to put your site online, but you dont need to have hosting to purchase a domain. Assuming you have a business or blog name in mind, its possible to reserve your brands name for the future by purchasing and registering your domain name now. Then youll have plenty of time to consider how to build your website.
What Are Domain Name Extensions
Domain name extensions help categorize different domain names. Its a special hierarchy, invented for the Internet.
You can choose among popular top-level domain extensions such as:
- .com
- .org
- .net
Or go with a local domain extension such as if you want to focus on building a presence in a specific country:
- .co.uk
- .fr
- .au
Also, theres a bunch of creative domain extensions, launched recently. You can try playing around with them to create a shorter, brandable name. For example:
- Alchemi.st
- Handma.de
Also Check: How To Choose A Domain Name For Affiliate Marketing
Tips When Registering A Domain Name
Obtaining the right domain name from the start is important, especially if youre creating a business or personal brand website. Changing domains is not only expensive but also potentially damages search engine rankings and conversion rates.
With this in mind, here are some things to consider when buying a domain name:
How To Get An Email Address On Your Custom Domain Name
You probably have Gmail or some other free email account already. While that email is perfectly fine, it might not look very good when used for any sort of professional purpose.
Were going to show you two ways to do that:
- Option A). Involves handling everything within your user panel at Bluehost one of the leading web hosting firms on the web, famous for its low prices and good beginner-friendly approach.
- Option B). Involves connecting your domain name to Gmail as in, yes, you will be interacting with your email through a Gmail-like panel, but youll be doing so in a way that lets you use your custom domain email instead of a standard address @gmail.com.
Something we need to admit right up front is that path is much more beginner-friendly. Wed give it 5/5 on the ease of use scale. Path is a moderate 3/5.
Option A) Create Email Accounts for Your Domain Name with Web Hosting Provider
Many top web hosting companies offer free email accounts for their customers. Bluehost, Hostgator, Dreamhost just to name a few.
In this example, well show you steps to create email accounts for your domain name with Bluehost:
First, log in to your Bluehost panel and then go into the Advanced tab from the main sidebar.
From there scroll down to the Email section and click on Email Accounts.
From there click on the Create button.
Heres how to fill that out:
Once you have the fields filled in, click on Create again.
Option B) Create Email Accounts for Your Domain Name with Gmail
Recommended Reading: How To Claim A Web Domain
Get A Premium WordPress Theme
Theres a reason why we mentioned premium WordPress theme.
Most beginners go for free WordPress themes but most of them dont provide you support, frequent updates, mobile friendly design and they are not SEO friendly.
Thats the reason why you need to invest money on getting a premium WordPress theme so youre good at from day 1 of launching your WordPress site.
You dont have to shell out thousands of dollars on a premium and good looking web design as there are few theme developers available out there which provide you themes at affordable prices.
Elegant themes is one such theme provider which offers you stunning premium WordPress themes at unbeatable prices.
Why use Elegant themes?
Elegant themes is used by over 500,000 people worldwide and you can get access to 87 professionally designed WordPress themes at just $80 per year.
That means, you literally get 1 theme for less than $1, its a steal you shouldnt miss out.
It doesnt matter what niche you are in including eCommerce to real estate to fitness, you can find at least one premium theme you can use from Elegant themes. The best part is, you dont have to pay for Elegant themes as you can use the 87 themes for lifetime.
Another thing about using Elegant themes is that it offers you Divi Builder which is a drag and drop builder that lets you customize your website design however you want.
Heres how it looks like
So what about the pricing?
Elegant themes offers 2 pricing plans.
How To Register A Domain On Godaddycom
GoDaddy is also known as a web hosting provider, but you can also buy a domain name from them.
Step 1: Look up a new domain name first. If you havent come up with a good name yet or are assessing different options, GoDaddy has a nice set of extra features to help you out.
You can use the Bulk Domain search to check a bunch of domain ideas for eligibility in a click. Or you can play around with their free domain name generator to get some alternative suggestions if your primary choice is already taken:
Also, if you are feeling very determined to get your desired domain for branding purposes, GoDaddy can try to broker a deal for you with the owner. But remember, the original owner may name any price they deem appropriate so in that case, youll be paying:
- Domain purchase fee to the seller.
- GoDaddy Domain Brokerage commission.
- The regular yearly subscription price for the selected domain and add-ons.
If you are running a small business, going into a heated negotiation with some cyber squatters may not be the best investment of your time and budgets.
Wait out and see if the other person forgets to renew their domain or abandons it so that you could snatch it then. GoDaddy has a Domain Backordering service where you can reserve your place in line for a specific domain. If theres more than one buyer, the domain goes on auction. If its just you only, you get it immediately.
Again, youd be pitched several upsells in case you change your mind.
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Favicon And Logo Creation
Favicon is nothing but a small image in front of your website name.
For example open google.com. On the top of your browser, you will see the G icon. That is called a favicon.
Also, you have to create a logo for your website. Although it is a bit optional. But it is good if you have your own logo for your website.
Your logo and your favicon give a visual identity to your website.
What Should My New Domain Name Be
While we cant tell you exactly what your new domain should be, we can give you some advice. Our article How to Choose the Best Domain covers this topic in-depth and our bulk name generator can offer suggestions, inspire you, as well as give you the chance to buy it there and then.
Here are some more tips to help you on your hunt.
Reflect on your product
The last thing you want to do is feel panic and regret, right after you buy a domain name. If youre selling a product, take some time to reflect on what youre selling, whether its a service or physical object. Jot down some related words and brainstorm ideas.
Try not to pigeonhole your website. For example, if you register chairs.com and later you want to start selling tables, visitors might be confused. Consider a neutral name and consider any future plans.
Describe the brand
Think about what your brand is. What do you aim to achieve? How do you want your product to be perceived? Ask focus groups, look for common words or phrases in customer feedback, emails, testimonials.
Keep it short and clear
Try to be concise when picking a domain name. Understandably, common words and popular phrases can be more expensive, but if you have the funds, a short and clear domain name will give you an advantage on long-winded, rambling ones.
They are likely to be memorable, marketable, and therefore strengthen brand recognition.
Check its legit
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Do It Yourself With A Content Management System
If youve got some skill, you can build a site using a popular CMS like WordPress.
Want to build a WordPress site but dont feel like handling all the technical stuff on your own? You might want to check out our easier way to get started with WordPress.
GoDaddys Managed WordPress Hosting features a Quick Start Wizard to get your new WordPress website up and running in a snap. Featuring eight pre-built customizable pages, easy drag-and-drop page building, and quick access to thousands of WordPress plugins, theres virtually no limit to what you can create.
Youll also get 24/7 support, core software updates and patches, free daily backups and one-click restore, a free domain with an annual plan and more.
Connect The Domain Name To A Web Hosting Account
If you buy a domain name from Hostinger, it will automatically connect to Hostingers nameservers. This step is specifically for users who bought their domain names and hosting plans from different providers.
For this tutorial, well show you how to point a domain name to Hostinger.
Keep in mind that it may take around 24 hours for the domain name changes to take effect. However, you can clear your DNS cache to speed up the process.
Read Also: How To Make A New Domain
I Have Bought A Domain Name Now What
So youve bought a domain name but dont know what to do next?
Dont worry. Youre not alone.
Having a domain name means you are already one step closer to creating a blog or website. Now you need to do a few more things to get your site live.
Here Ill be sharing a list of first things you need to do after buying a domain name. You can do all of these by yourself without hiring any professionals.
Before going further, lets check the steps you need to take after buying your new domain name.
Now lets get started with the first step.
Building A Website Once You Register A Domain Name
Once you register your domain name for your website, the next step is choosing what type of website you will build, and how you will build it.
There are many ways to build a website, some of them take a lot of specialized knowledge or coding expertise. Other methods are simple enough for anyone to do themselves.
If you are looking to build a website for your own local business, or perhaps a club or organization you belong to, then WordPress is a great way for people without any experience to get a website up and running in no time.
Likewise, if you want to build an affiliate website, or a content-based website, perhaps on a topic you enjoy or a hobby you have, then again using WordPress is probably the best way to get started.
eCommerce or sites with shopping cart capabilities are probably best built using a shopping cart script such as WooCcommerce, which we have other tutorials that you can follow.
Building a basic website is a lot easier than more people realize, as long as you are willing to learn some new skills along the way.
We have a ton of tutorials and help available to get you started. All you need is the willingness to do it. A few hours later, you could have something amazing up and running.
Also Check: How To Change Minecraft Server Ip To Domain Name
Selecting The Right Country Domain For Your Business
Although your website may be up and running, selecting an effective domain name is crucial to your site, both in terms of marketing and search engine optimization. According to recent news, Googles Caffeine search engine technology is taking site loading speed into consideration when ranking websites in search results.
A websites domain name suffix is used to decipher which geographical version of Google the search results should appear in. For those sites which use a .com, .org, .net domain that is not country specific, the web servers location is used to determine the location of the website.
A web server which is located in the United States that is hosting a website focused on UK visitors is going to take much longer to load for those UK visitors than if it were actually hosted in the UK. The location of your web host, as well as the country in which your domain is local to is thus important, before you even get to deciding what your domain name itself will be.
Why Change Domain Names
There are many reasons for wanting to change, perhaps you dont like your domain name, or maybe youve had feedback that your customers dont like it.
So, what happens if a name just isnt working for you anymore?
There are benefits of domain name changing. You might be able to get your hands on a shorter and more memorable domain name one thats marketable, modern, and appeals to your customers.
Lets take a closer look at four reasons you might want to switch names.
Reason 1. You want to rebrand
Maybe your company was bought and you need to undertake a domain name change, or a brand agency recently swept you off your feet, resulting in a company name change, and therefore a pressing need to change your domain name?
Perhaps you own a company that sold blue dog collars and registered for the name billsbluecollars.co. After a short while, you start to realize that red collars are more popular. You no longer want that .co domain, you want a .com, and to revamp your domain name entirely.
Its perfectly understandable that if a complete overhaul and fresh design are happening, you might need a new domain to match.
Reason 2. Youre relocating
Imagine youre an actor. An exciting move from a small US town to Toronto in Canada might mean that your acting portfolio website needs to change from a .us to a .cato reflect your availability.
Reason 3. Your business has changed
Reason 4. Your dream domain name is up for grabs
Recommended Reading: How To Buy A Registered Domain Name From Someone
Use A Domain Name Generator
If youre not the creative type, you can use a domain name generator to help spark some ideas. Simply enter in some words or phrases that describe your brand or website, and these tools will give you a list of ideas that you can then check for availability.
Bring your brand to life with your own website. Design from scratch, connect a domain, analyze traffic, and optimize for SEO.
Add And Manage Your Website Content
Once you’ve worked out what content you want on your website, you’ll need to create or buy the content.
Website content includes things like:
- images
- landing pages to support promotional campaigns.
Having relevant and professional content and images will help customers understand your products and services and make them feel comfortable about doing business with you.
Just as you might hire a professional to design your site or make a video, you might also want to consider hiring a professional to create images or write and structure your content.
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Sell Your Domain Name
Stuff happens. Maybe inspiration struck at 3 a.m., when an amazing new domain name woke you from a dead sleep. And that other domain you already registered? It can still help you out.
You can get it in front of interested buyers via domain aftermarket sites that only take a small percentage of the sale.
One such aftermarket option is GoDaddy Auctions.
For an annual fee and a percentage of the sale, you can list your domain name for auction or set a buy now price and GoDaddy will handle all the details.
Related: 5 tried-and-true tips for selling domain names for profit